Vertical power semiconductor devices are increasingly used for switching high currents through loads, such as, for example, electric motors. Due to dynamic processes, such as, for example, overcurrent shutdown or short circuit loading, the result can be excessive field increases or too high an electric field in the power semiconductor device. Excessive field increases may result in large-area or filament-like or thread-like excessive current increases. When down-commuting the charge carriers from the space-charge region, for example, such an excessive field increase at or on the backside of the power semiconductor will result at the end of this process.
A probability of destroying the device here is the higher, the lower the basic doping of the starting material. With a low basic doping of the starting material, only a low fixed space charge is available so that in dynamic processes, such as, for example, short circuit loading, down-commuting or overcurrent shut down, there is an increased probability of overcompensation of this space charge, which influences the distribution of the electric field in the power semiconductor negatively and may thus result in the device to be destroyed.